Well... research is by definition systematic and rigorous, which your last two surveys don't really appear to be. What you're doing is asking a bunch of random people on the internet their opinions. There's nothing wrong with that, and you might get something useful out of it, but it isn't really research per se.norr said:
(Research) Identitity In Gaming
- Thread starter norr
- Start date
What he is getting though is a perfectly randomised test group, inside the group of vocal internet posters. And what this vocal group is good at, especially on these forums, as i've noticed, is formulating an articulated opinion. Trying to go around the city, asking these questions to random people walking into game stores is a doomed enterprise. I can only imagine what percent of people would understand the question or how many would produce an answer longer than 'yeah, i guess'rgrekejin said:
uh why did you keep the remove loop?norr said:
When you chopped through the the 3rd section.
I mean it's fine man but a little weird that was supposed to go with the remove Kater murr
*laughs* If you think that the group of people who frequent The Escapist forums, comment frequently and at length, and click on topics with titles like "Identity in Gaming" are any sort of a random sampling of the general population, the gaming public, or even Escapist readers in general, then you either have a very bizarre sample population in mind or a very poor grasp of how selection bias works.SoreWristed said:
I think identity representation is getting there. I'd say that most games that force a specific identity on the player DO do it for story, and not just to deny the player options to be themselves.
When that's not the case, though, it tends to get awful fast.
I'd say the thing to do is less to add more options, but to make them matter. For instance in Fallout New Vegas you can be a straight male gambling statesman or a lesbian cannibal, but the world around you doesn't reflect that much.
When that's not the case, though, it tends to get awful fast.
I'd say the thing to do is less to add more options, but to make them matter. For instance in Fallout New Vegas you can be a straight male gambling statesman or a lesbian cannibal, but the world around you doesn't reflect that much.
In most games, you are playing a character, not yourself or a personalized avatar. In this aspect, I can't see how a game can alienate anyone unless it itself is presented in a blatant way. Am I personally offended that few to none of the protagonists I play are gay? NO. In fact, in most games, you can't even identify a sexuality. As for the sex and race of the character, I can't speak from a personal offense standpoint but how often do you watch a movie or read a book and feel angry that a character isn't a black woman instead of the person the author visualized? Authors best write what they can put themselves inside. If a man can't be expected to understand the amazing, complex creature that is woman (apparently), or understand the pain and strife an inner-city kid feels because of how his grandparents were treated, how can we also expect authors, screenplay writers, and game designers to do exactly that? Diversity will come from diverse designers, not straight white male designers being browbeaten into diversity.